The practice of removing the majority of microorganisms from equipment, utentils, fermentors, bottles etc. that comes into contact with the cooled wort. Poor sanitation can contaminate the wort, producing off-flavors.
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2answers
22 views
Sanitize the bottle capper?
When bottling, is it wise to dunk the bottle capper in sanitizing solution or is that overkill?
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2answers
65 views
Which is the superior air-lock liquid: Vodka or Star-San?
I've had a life-long fancy for using vodka to clean sanitize and naturally use it in my air-lock.
Given that it is only 40%, however, and I live in California where pure grain alcohol is illegal, ...
4
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4answers
159 views
Would placing the fermenter tank in a tub of water be a good way to handle hot environments?
Summers where I live typically have 80F nights and it can easily pick up to 95 degrees during the day.
I have a plastic trash can (which I bought for this purpose) that I have filled up with water. ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Bottle drying after sanitisation?
When sanitising and using a bottle tree, should I wait for bottles to dry completely or can I use them just rinsed? The Youngs sanitiser I'm using says items should be used within 1 hour of being ...
5
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2answers
113 views
Necessary to clean bottle tree?
So I recently purchased a bottle tree (not sure how I went so long without one) for drying/storing my sanitized bottles. Is it is overkill to sanitize the bottle tree in sanitizing solution as well?
...
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2answers
59 views
sanitation during mash and sparge
I've been brewing extract batches for a couple of months, and have never lost a batch to poor sanitation. I lost my first all grain batch of beer, and I think that I am sanitizing my brew kettle and ...
1
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1answer
77 views
Contact time for sanitizing bottles with diversol
To sanitize bottles with diversol can I simply put the solution in a vinator, pump it into the bottle a couple of times and rinse?
Or does it require to soak in the bottles for 20 minutes?
2
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1answer
99 views
Is Videne effective as a non-rinse santizer?
In nearly all the online videos from experienced homebrewers, they use Star San as a non-rinse sanitizer. However in the UK it is not widely available (only one site has it online and it is not ...
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2answers
109 views
Contact time required for sanitation with sodium metabisulphite?
My starter brewing kit came with 100g of Sodium Metabisulphite for sanitation. It advises to dissolve 1 tsp per pint of water. However there are no futher instructions.
I don't know how long I need ...
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2answers
122 views
What are some effective, cheap, easy ways to clean and re-use bottles?
After a couple year hiatus from home brewing, I'm ready to get back into it and I have been diligently consuming some local microbrews and saving the bottles in preparation. When I brewed before, for ...
4
votes
4answers
187 views
How to clean the inside of a blowoff hose
I soaked my blowoff hose in PBW for an hour or so, then rinsed and let dry. There is still light amounts of residue visible. The only brush I own is a carboy brush which I don't think will fit ...
4
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3answers
147 views
vanilla beans in a porter
Just brewed up a porter and going to be transfering into secondary tonight, I also want to put vanilla beans into the secondary. The question I have is how to make sure that the beans are sanitized ...
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2answers
189 views
Tips on Using Easy Clean
I got a beer kit and it came with Easy Clean from LD Carlson. At first I was under the impression that I could use it to clean and sanitize. But now I'm not so sure. It looks like it was good for ...
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3answers
227 views
How can I tell there is mold in my bottles?
I just got my kit and am about to brew for the first time.
I was warned to not use bottles that have sat out uncleaned because there can be mold in them.
How can I tell if there is mold in my ...
2
votes
3answers
398 views
Deep cleaning equipment after “brett” contamination
A Few Contaminated Batches
Although most of my beers have been coming out 'clean', I've had a couple of my beers show up with what I think might be bretanomyaces or some other 'bug'. The ...
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3answers
277 views
harmful mold growing in fermentation freezer?
I have a freezer that I use for temp control. However, it's been unplugged all summer and its growing mold. Is this going to be harmful to my respiratory system for me to open and clean it? What ...
2
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3answers
246 views
Cleaning & sanitizing NPT and weldless fittings
I just got a new boil kettle with a stainless ball valve attached with a weldless bulkhead fitting, and a stainless barb connected to the NPT outlet of the ball valve.
What's the cleaning procedure ...
4
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3answers
552 views
Recycling/Reusing Bottles?
Are Glass Beer Bottles safe to recycle/reuse? Since I can't know who drank out of it and what could be in it, I want to be sure that this is safe to do.
What type of disinfection reagent would I use, ...
3
votes
3answers
571 views
What amounts and times should I use to clean/sterilize my brewing equipment?
There are actually 2 questions here. The first one is more of an opinion (although I would like to know), but the correct answer will only be awarded for the second question.
I have been researching ...
4
votes
1answer
348 views
What's the minimum safe immersion time to sanitize something with StarSan?
How long should I keep something immersed in StarSan/swish it around for to ensure that it's as sanitized as I could reasonably hope it'll be?
I know everyone has a rule of thumb for this (I use 1min ...
8
votes
2answers
431 views
Brett, Pedio, Lacto. Reuse and kegging
I have 6 gallons of a bretted whit that has been sitting in the basement for 8 months and a Pedio/Lacto/Brett Dubbel that has been working for about 7 months.
If I wanted to reuse these cultures ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Sanitization practices when dry hopping in a muslin bag
I've had good results, have always done it the same way in recent years, but always question myself when I dry hop.
Weigh-out my pellet hops
Scrub my hands with soap an water
Drop a weight, a muslin ...
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vote
1answer
421 views
Is iodophor ideal for rinse-less sanitization before bottling?
I was talking to a friend today and complainIng about the clean/bleach/sanitize/rinse process I undergo when bottling. He dug a bottle of iodophor out of a back shelf and asked me to try it out. He ...
6
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3answers
351 views
cleaning vs. sanitizing
I have made over 50 batches of homebrew, and I have a confession: I rarely CLEAN my equipment. I take a quick look to see if there is any visible debris/dust, etc., and if so, I will spot clean it or ...
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3answers
672 views
What will happen to this un-sanitized batch of Wheat beer?
So my brother-in-law (great guy, btw) sent me a brew kit, ingredients, and instructions. Except the instructions never went over the whole "sanitation thing"... So, uh oh... I didn't sanitize the ...
4
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4answers
193 views
Extract brew, sanitizing hop strainer and tap? First brew day!
Last night I made my first ever extract brew.
The brew day went pretty well. As I have a 32 litre brupak boiler with a hop strainer and tap I cooled the wort with cold bottled water straight in the ...
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3answers
261 views
How to sanitize a 10" cylindrical beer filter?
Do you soak it in sanitizer? Boil it? Do nothing?
I saw one on Amazon last week for like $30 and I figured what the heck, pick it up and I'll try it out, but now I'm not sure how I'd go about doing ...
4
votes
4answers
378 views
Yeast Starter Stopper & Sanitization
I'm going to be making my first yeast starter, for a higher gravity beer.
While reading starter guides, and watching videos, I've noticed that there are several different techniques and opinions for ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
Does C-Brite require rinsing
I've read online that C-Brite:
Does require rinsing
Does not require rinsing
Does not require rinsing if you let it dry
Does not require rinsing but you should or your beer will have off flavors
...
7
votes
2answers
429 views
How difficult are the plate-based wort chiilers to clean? Do they require filtration before the wort goes through them?
I'm considering getting one of those "Therminator" style wort chillers as an upgrade to the coil. I plan on gravity feeding the wort through and pumping back into the kettle until my wort is nice and ...
3
votes
3answers
506 views
Airlock re-sanitization after minor blow-off
I had some minor blow-off enter (and exit) my airlock during the most active part of fermentation. The krausen has since gone down significantly, and there is no worry of the airlock getting clogged.
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4answers
318 views
Homebrew sanitisation in a Pinch
So it's that time of year where none of the local shops are open (at least in my area) and I am itching to put on a new brew but haven't got any sanitiser.
I thought some Napisan (I believe AKA ...
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1answer
200 views
Does anybody know about Chemipro Acid?
I'm living in the Netherlands and it seems that Starsan isn't available here. I'm wondering if anyone knows if Chemipro Acid is the same thing? Or just what's in it?
For reference, see here:
...
4
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1answer
141 views
Moldy taste appearing months after bottling
I brewed and bottled an English Ale in August, and, after a few weeks in the bottle, promptly drank most of the 5 gallons.
However, I'd heard some advice to leave a few bottles for a few months to ...
6
votes
1answer
307 views
Best way to store empty kegs
After using, then cleaning a keg with PBW, what is the best way to store the cleaned keg? I may not use the keg for a while, and I would like to avoid mold growing in any residual water (for ...
2
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2answers
305 views
off flavors and sanitizing/scratched plastic
I've read through the various posts here and the common wisdom is that off flavors are because of poor sanitizing or using scratched plastic carboys/buckets. I'd like to read from some of the "master ...
3
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2answers
162 views
Rust in a plastic fermenter?
I've got a 6 gallon plastic fermenter - one of those food-grade plastic buckets Midwest gives you in the starter kit. I guess after our last brew, my brother and I carelessly tossed the remains of our ...
10
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3answers
2k views
Do I need to sterilize my top-off water?
I just purchased my first kit and am about to brew it (tonight!).
The instructions provided indicate that after cooling the wort and tranfering it to the sanitized carboy I need to top it off with ...
11
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5answers
2k views
How Do You Sanitize Your Carboys?
When sanitizing your carboys, do you fill them all the way up (6+ gallons) with sanitizer or do you put in less and swirl it around?
This may depend on what type of sanitizer is being used. I'm using ...
4
votes
1answer
272 views
How can I use my oven to sanitize equipment
I want to sanitize and dry off my plate chiller using my oven. What temperature do I need to set the oven to, and how long do I need to hold that temperatures for?
6
votes
1answer
668 views
What do I need to refurbish a corny keg?
What do I need to prepare a used corny keg (picked up at a flea market say) for brewing?
Should I replace the seals?
Do I need a special tool to remove the posts?
What products and techniques ...
3
votes
3answers
878 views
Can the plastic caps on PET bottles be re-used?
My brew kit came with 750mL plastic (PET) bottles & screw-on caps, which I've used. The "safety seals" are broken, but I thought they were more an indicator of product tampering than a functional ...
2
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2answers
417 views
Is there a problem if one forgets to sanitize caps?
I bottle about a third of my batches in longnecks with crown caps. On my most recent brew (that's carbing up now) I forgot to sanitize the caps. Didn't realize this until I had bottled everything ...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
Using StarSan in Airlock
Just getting started on home brewing and I used boiled water in my airlock. I've seen that some places recommend using sanitizer as the airlock "fill". Is it ok to use straight up StarSan in there or ...
8
votes
5answers
2k views
Boiling bottle caps
I've always soaked my bottle caps in sanitizer before using, but a friend of mine suggested boiling (throw in the same pot with priming sugar) instead because the cooties can theoretically hide from ...
6
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2answers
217 views
Hopping In Secondary
I'm brewing an IPA that calls for the addition of hops when I rack to secondary. I have pelletized hops still sealed in their plastic packaging and I'm wondering if they can be added to the secondary ...
6
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2answers
752 views
Is it okay to store a batch of mixed star-san?
I use a spray bottle with star san, so I don't use a lot of it each time I brew.
Is it okay to store the rest in a bucket and then refill my spray bottle when I need some?
I've read that it should ...
11
votes
3answers
740 views
What is the best way to sanitize vanilla pods?
I Am planning on adding a vanilla pod to secondary in my next brew. What is the best way to sanitize it before it goes in?
5
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3answers
628 views
Do you reuse Io Star Iodophor Sanitizer?
I understand that Io Star Iodophor Sanitizer is reusable, but it seems cumbersome. Do you reuse this sanitizer?
12
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3answers
1k views
No-rinse acid sanitizer - is there a risk?
My homebrewer friends recommend the StarSan acid sanitizer, hands-down. I tried it once and it foamed everywhere and left a bunch of rings in the carboy and the bottles. It made me paranoid that it ...
